HR Coffee Time19 Aug 2022

048 | How to support your colleagues with bereavement at work, with Michelle Smith

It can be hard to know what to say or do when a colleague passes away or experiences the loss of someone close to them. Unfortunately, bereavement is a fact of life and something that you’ll have to support your colleagues within your role as an HR and People professional. However, it’s likely that you’ve never been given any training to support you with this.

So, this episode of HR Coffee Time is here to help. Career Coach Fay Wallis is joined by Director of Empower Workplace Solutions; Michelle Smith, who shares key considerations and advice to support your bereaved workforce compassionately.

Key Points From This Episode

[02:06] An introduction to Michelle Smith

[06:50] In the last two years, one in eight people have experienced a bereavement (statistic from Respecting and supporting grief at work. How employers can better support their staff through personal loss)

[08:05] Michelle shares an important checklist that she has created - Supporting your bereaved workforce - 10 key considerations

[09:13] The importance of inclusion considerations

[14:29] Setting & maintaining boundaries

[17:23] How Mental Health First Aid training can be beneficial in the workplace

[20:13] Michelle explains the different ways to provide support:

The initial response
Checking in with each other
Empathy

[27:33] Different ways an organisation can honour loss within the workplace

[30:33] Details of Michelle’s services

[31:47] How to connect with Michelle

[32:20] Michelle’s book recommendation - Indistractable by Nir Eyal (Disclosure: this is an affiliate link which means Fay will earn a small commission from Amazon if you choose to purchase the book using it).

[34:34] Fay recaps the key points from this week’s episode

Useful Links

Rate and Review the Podcast

If you found this episode of HR Coffee Time helpful, please do rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

If you're kind enough to leave a review, please do let Fay know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: fay@brightskycareercoaching.co.uk.

Enjoyed This Episode? Don't Miss the Next One!

Be notified each time a new episode of HR Coffee Time is released and get access to other free career tips, tools and resources by signing up to receive the free weekly HR Coffee Time email.

Mentioned in this episode:

Kara Connect - Help When It's Needed Most

Menopause, grief, ADHD, relationship breakdown... Every day, employees dealing with these situations are turned away by their EAP because they didn't qualify for counselling. When someone finally asks for help, they deserve better. Visit Kara Connect, where no employee is ever turned away.

Kara Connect

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(173)

172 | HR and AI: How One Company Helped Employees Embrace AI (with Laura Maffucci)

Laura Maffucci has played a key role in helping her organisation embrace AI. The surprising part? She doesn't actually like AI.In this episode of HR Coffee Time, Laura, Head of HR at G-P, shares her h...

5 Juni 31min

171: How to Build Trust & Get Buy-In Through Brilliant Employee Communication (with Nik Nawaaz)

You can design the best HR strategy, introduce brilliant benefits, or roll out an important change - but if people do not understand it, engage with it, or take action, none of it matters.That is why ...

22 Maj 34min

170: 4 Ways to Stay Focused At Work and Handle Interruptions

Are constant interruptions at work stopping you from getting through your most important tasks?If you work in HR or a People role, you’ll know how quickly your day can be taken over by “have you got a...

8 Maj 16min

169 | A Brilliant Example of What ‘Being Strategic’ in HR Actually Looks Like (with Harriet Mewis)

Have you wondered what ‘being strategic’ actually looks like? In this episode, you’ll hear a real, step-by-step example of what being strategic can look like in your day-to-day work.Host, Fay Wallis, ...

24 Apr 38min

168 | The 5 Things That Will Help You Become a Successful HR Director

If you’ve been working hard in your HR career but still feel unsure what will truly help you step up into an HR Director role (or have more impact in the one you’re already in), this episode is for yo...

10 Apr 13min

167 | The Weird Confidence Trick That Actually Works

Is there something at work you know you’re capable of… but in the moment, your nerves take over?Whether it’s speaking up in a meeting, handling a difficult conversation, or stepping into a high-pressu...

27 Mars 13min

166 | The Biggest HR Strategy Mistake – And How to Fix It (with Dean Corbett)

Could you be making the biggest HR strategy mistake without realising it?Creating an HR or People strategy can feel overwhelming - especially when many HR professionals are expected to do it without e...

13 Mars 35min

165 | What Being “Commercial” Really Means & How to Get Better at It (with Jo Bailey)

Struggling to feel confident when Finance conversations come up at work? Been told you need to be "more commercial" but not sure what that actually means? In this practical episode, Commercial HR Coac...

27 Feb 35min